


Wants

by Of_Princes_and_Savages



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: After this whole 6B crap ends, Angst, Hopeful Ending, More angst than anticipated, NOT ANTI BELLE, communication issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 22:43:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9790382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Princes_and_Savages/pseuds/Of_Princes_and_Savages
Summary: The Black Fairy is gone, Gideon is a baby again, the town is safe...and Rumpelstiltskin is unwanted again...





	

**Author's Note:**

> NOT! *slaps hand* ANTI! *slaps hand* BELLE! *slaps hand*
> 
> Prompt: "I thought you didn't want me."

Rumpelstiltskin had paid the brunt of the cost needed to be rid of his mother for once and for all, and that included reverting their son, Gideon, (he hated the name, he recognized it immediately and hated that Belle thought to name their son after a sickening hero that slayed dark wizards in her favorite book, but kept his mouth shut,) back into a newborn Belle had taken to live with her in the library apartment. It wasn't the pirate's ship, so that was fine with him. The price he paid for all that magic at one time had seemed to burn the Dark One up. Just poof, gone. His name melted off the dagger and he felt something in his chest lighten, and that was that.

No Black Fairy, Emma lives, Belle had their son back, and no more Dark One.

He was still treated like a leper because he retained some magical abilities. Now he was perhaps a touch less powerful than Regina was, but his three centuries of knowledge made up for a lack of physical power. Maybe that was one of (the many) reasons Belle decided he needed to be kept at a distance too, but he didn't blame her for that.

She needed space to process everything. He respected that.

It was just...he knew what her decision was going to be. He'd been a beast to her, driven her to fearing for her and their son's lives to the point that she sent him out of Storybrooke. There was no coming back from that. Even knowing he hadn't poisoned her tea to sped up her pregnancy wasn't enough to erase that fact. Her request for space had been in effect for three months, with no sign of change, and Rumpelstiltskin didn't really think there would be any, either.

So, in an effort to save both of them some time, he'd had drawn up divorce papers.

Belle had primary custody of Gideon, but he was to see him once a month at minimum. She had the library apartment, and he'd alloted her a generous alimony and child support package so that she nor their son would want for anything. He'd set aside additional funds if she'd like to renovate the apartment to suit a child, or perhaps buy one of his properties for herself. Belle was young and impossible not to love, she'd find someone new easily, might even want to have children with them, so she might appreciate that choice.

Perfect.

He kept the divorce papers in his shop, waiting for her to come to him. Rumpelstiltskin was still a selfish bastard. Every moment he waited in showing her the papers, was another moment he could believe she wanted to fix things. If she did, this time, he swore to himself, he'd do everything to make their marriage work. In Storybrooke, his knowledge and wealth alone should be all the power and protection he needed for his family, he didn't need the curse anymore. He didn't. All he needed was to do what Belle wanted him to do in the first place: Believe in their love. He could do that.

He could do that.

He could.

He'd _would_...

But she never came around.

It was at the point that he was certain she had given up, and decided that he had to be the one to buck up and make the first move for a change. He attached a Post-It to the front of the envelope holding the annulment, that read, **For Your Consideration** , and slid it into the return box at the library.

Rumpelstiltskin found he'd partly been holding his breath until Belle burst into the pawnshop the next day and slapped the envelope on the counter between them with rage in her blue eyes. He hadn't known what to expect honestly, but he thought the sheer anger was a little...surprising.

"You avoid me for three months, and you don't even have the decency to hand me divorce papers yourself?" she snapped. "Why?"

"I-"

"No, you know what, don't answer that," Belle cut him off with a raised finger. "Just tell me what the hell it is you're thinking! Not to be rude, but you have a lot of stupid assumptions about what I want, but an anullment is not it. I live right across the street! If you had some problem, you could have just walked over and spoken to me, not-"

"I thought you didn't want me."

His voice was small and weak coming out of his mouth, but it sounded very loud in the suddenly-still air of the pawnshop.

Belle blinked. "You...Rumple how could you-Why would you-"

"I-I know you need time after..." his hand fluttered without his permission. "After everything. But I...y-you don't have to sign, of course, I just thought y-you'd...you'd like options."

The air became very heavy, then, and Belle stared down at the enclosed document like it had grown fangs. Her hands even moved away from it, falling limp at her sides.

"What are my options, then?"

Rumpelstiltskin swallowed. "I...suppose they're...well...I-I don't mind waiting if you need more time, of course, or not. Um...you could wait, you could sign, or...it's up to you, really, the ball is in your court. Let me know what you decide."

Belle's eyebrows knit together, and she slowly dragged her eyes up to meet his. He wished he'd left his hair long, suddenly he felt far too exposed. The silence wore on for nearly a minute, and for the life of him, Rumpelstiltskin couldn't make out what that expression on his wife...ex-wife...on Belle's face meant. It was nigh inscrutable, and her body language was completely neutral, as well, leaving him feeling like he was drowning in a pool while she watched.

"Have you already made your decision, then?"

"I..." well that was unexpected. "I...this is your choice, Belle, it's-"

"It's your marriage too, Rumple," she said, sweeping her blue eyes over him, and she began to look worried by whatever she saw now. "Doesn't that matter to you, or..."

Something like horror and something like understanding lit her face, and then her expression crumpled. Belle pushed the divorce papers towards him until they tumbled to the floor in front of his toes. Off the counter, completely. Then she was laying a hand on his arm, and her touch felt foreign, even through his jacket and shirt. How long had it been since anyone, even Belle, had touched him? Probably...probably three months, yeah. His heart thumped unexpectedly in his chest, and he tried to will it into silence.

"Rumple, Rumple, look at me, please," Belle was pleading, pressing against the counter until she was as close as she could get with the box of glass between them. "Forget me shouting, forget what you think is best for me, forget all of that. Just tell me what you're thinking, okay? Why do you think I don't want you?"

Why? Why _would_ she?

Her hand slipped away from his arm, and he fought back the request to put it back. Instead, he swallowed, and tried to force out different words. An explanation for something she surely knew by now.

"I'm...I ruined our marriage. I lied to you, I've hidden things, I've hurt people, I couldn't wake you up from the sleeping curse, I couldn't save you from the dream world, I didn't leave you alone in Storybrooke, I-I was terrible to you and I drove you to desperation so you sent Gideon away and I-"

"Rumple, Rumple, sweetheart, please breathe, _please_ , you're starting to scare me."

Oh. Breathing. Yes.

He inhaled deeply and then spit out the last bit: "And I don't blame you for not wanting to see me, I've ruined everything, made a complete hash of it all. I'll do it again, I know I will, I c-can't-I can't-I can't do it again, I can't put you in that position again, you need to do what's best for you and our son, and I'm not it-"

"Breathe, darling, please," Belle urged, her hands coming up to cup his face. He shut his eyes, trying to count to three between breaths, and felt her hands slip away. A whine escaped his throat, pathetic and small, he heard Belle's heels thud against the floor. He waited for the bell to jangle, waited for her to leave him to apparently have a total mental breakdown in privacy, when she was suddenly at his side.

Small, strong arms wrapped around his shoulders, his face pressing into a fragant cloud of reddish-brown curls. Her hair stuck to his hot, damp face and he realized he was crying. Fuck.

"'M sorry-"

"No, no, don't apologize for this, not this," Belle shushed, kissing the side of his neck. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry-"

"You don't-"

"No, please let me apologize, just this once. You don't...you don't deserve...you've been so brave for me, so many times-"

"I haven't, I've-"

"Baby if you say you've been a coward I'll have to pinch you, now hush," she scolded without any heat, and Rumpelstiltskin wasn't sure if the noise he made was a sob or laugh. "Because you're not. You might be afraid, but you're never a coward. You make mistakes, but so does everyone. I can't punish you for the same mistakes again and again and forgive everyone else, I'm sorry. And I am so, so, so sorry that-I asked you for space, and I should have come to you. You always respect when I want space, I shouldn't have expected anything different, it was wrong to try to force you into action-"

"I don't always respect your boundaries..." he swallowed. The Jolly Roger, that stupid bangle, even the idea of that magic powder to speed up her pregnancy...

Belle was quiet for a moment, then squeezed him tighter. It felt good.

"I was horrid to you, too. We've both been awful to each other, but I think I've been worse because I was such a fucking hypocrite."

Rumpelstitlskin couldn't help it. His eloquent little Belle didn't swear, and her saying such a dirty word made him snicker against her shoulder. Belle gave his neck another little kiss and nuzzled under his ear in a soft, silent gesture of comfort.

"I always _say_ to do the brave thing, but I haven't been brave in so long I think I forgot that. I wasn't...I ran off to Camelot to play hero, and did nothing. I couldn't save you here, I made more trouble for you in the Underworld, I'm just-Why do you want me, Rumple? I'm stubborn and reckless and selfish and I don't respect your boundaries-Rumple, I sent our son away and didn't even give you his name. I treated you like Zelena treated Robin, I-I stole your dagger and used it against you like her-I went to Zelena just because it would hurt you-" Belle sobbed. "And it did hurt you! And I j-I just _watched_ it happen!"

Rumpelstiltskin's ankle twinged as he tugged them to the floor, but he ignored it. Belle settled in at his side and he didn't care if he couldn't get up without her help again, that was just...sort of the story of their life. When they worked together, they could do anything. It was when they were playing the same game at different angles that made things a wreck.

"I hurt you, too. We were horrid, you're right. I thought...I thought that's why you didn't come back...that it wouldn't be worth the trouble..."

Belle sniffled, giving him a wet smile. "You're worth the trouble, Rumpelstiltskin. Always." She studied his face a moment, and cupped his cheek slowly, hesitantly. Her hands were so warm and soft, with cool fingertips tracing the curve of his...ears?

"I don't think I've ever seen these so clearly before," she said shyly, trailing up to those odd little points at the tip. "They're so...cute."

Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes a little, bowing his head down at the slight pressure he took to mean, _turn this way please_. Belle's lips pressed agianst his temple, and his heart felt like it had stuttered back to life.

"Will you see Archie with me?" he blurted out.

"Archie?" Belle repeated, then made a little 'O' shape with her mouth. "Archie. Yes, yes of course. I...I'll have to find a babysitter for Gideon, what day should it be?"

"I'm free tomorrow." He was always free, really. It wasn't like he had Belle's circle of friends.

"Good, tomorrow then," she nodded, kissing his forehead again. "Maybe afterwards...would you like to come up to the library and see Gideon for a bit? I think...I think he does miss you. He always fusses when I take him out to go from the library to the diner, like he wants to come in here."

Even if that was a total lie to make him feel better, Rumpelstiltskin nodded again. Gideon. His son. _Their son Gideon_. It might grow on him.

"Of course."

Belle smiled, and though he would rather kiss her on her pink lips, Rumpelstiltskin settled for kissing her salty, damp cheek. She had cried her own tears, it would seem. He hated seeing her cry, hated making her cry even more, but at least this time it was sort of...mutual. Maybe even something they both needed.

He picked his pocket square loose and brushed the silk over her cheeks, and Belle sat still while he tended to her. When he'd finished, she'd wiped away the tear tracks on his face with her hands, and then gently brought his forehead to rest against hers.

"I want you," she promised. "I want you very much, even though this won't be easy to fix. But I want to try."

"It might be easier if we both work on it..." he murmured, brown eyes locked to her blue ones. They smiled, even if her lips barely moved. He adored how she could do that, smile with just her eyes.

"It...it might, yeah. So," Belle sat back on her heels, picking up the envelope. "Let's get rid of this, shall we?"

Rumpelstiltskin hesitated a moment, then took the anullment from her. A little conscious thought and a little burst of magic, and the envelope peeled open, the sheets of paper folding and twisting and shredding until they made a perfect long-stemmed rose. Belle's eyes widened with surprise and he smiled sheepishly as he offered her a gift. Something pretty from something ugly.

"If you'll have it?" he offered.

And she accepted with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> MY ISSUE IS WRITING AND PRESENTATION, NOT BELLE HERSELF.
> 
> She has every right to have her space to think, every right to think what she wants, every right to decide what's best for herself. But I'm really mightily tired of her being portrayed as being brave when she's being bitchy, and really tired of all her mistakes being brushed aside because Rumpelstiltskin is soooo much worse.
> 
> He's made PLENTY of mistakes, don't get me wrong. But for the love of god, when you have a character say ,"What have we done to each other?" That usually implies both parties are at fault, so please, stop using Belle as the hammer to bash Rumple with. I don't need her to grovel and beg forgiveness, but extend the same courtesy to him. And since obviously Emma isn't using Archie anymore in favor of snuggling into the enabling embrace of her family, send Rumbelle over there, too.
> 
> END OF RANT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.


End file.
